This was originally a little headcanon of mine and now I've finally made it into something more. I don't own any rights to the Ace Attorney franchise (unfortunately). Enjoy!
"So I was thinking about going to the movies"
"No, that's way too stereotypical! How about a dinner date?"
"That's an even worse idea! Can you imagine how awkward they would be?"
Maya, Trucy, and Athena were all gathered around the coffee table in the office, each slowly sipping a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Every time either Phoenix or Apollo were on a case that didn't require any of their help, they would sit on the couch together and talk about everything and anything. Recently their conversations had come to a very important, potentially life changing point. What would happen if Phoenix and Edgeworth went on a double date with Apollo and Klavier? At first, the idea had seemed insane; there was no way they would ever do something like that. But soon the simple idea had evolved into a plan. Of course the four men would never voluntarily do it, but what if they were set up and had no choice but to go? And so the three girls hatched their scheme.
"Okay, but what about something like bowling?" Trucy mused, sipping on her drink.
"Bowling? They're not 13, Trucy" Athena rolled her eyes.
"Just hear me out. Picture this in your heads. Daddy getting childishly excited and dragging a super embarrassed Edgeworth by the hand over to the lanes. Then Apollo and Klavier turn up. Apollo is blushing as usual and Klavier is being all haughty but actually freaking out on the inside because he hasn't been bowling since he was 11 or something ridiculous like that. We could book it so they end up on lanes next to each other so they can't miss each other and boom, ridiculously cute double date"
"That idea isn't actually half bad..." Maya smirked as the scene played out in her head. Athena grabbed her laptop and searched up the closest bowling alleys.
"We're in luck, there's a bowling alley barely 10 minutes from the office" she announced after a few minutes of research. The three girls giggled as they booked the lanes for the two couples- grateful that Maya knew all of Phoenix's credit card details. Now all they had to do was set the four of them up.
Phoenix knew he should have been suspicious as soon as Maya asked him when was the last time he had gone 10 pin bowling. But at the time, his mind had been preoccupied with the case they were supposed to be investigating so he casually dismissed any thoughts on what her reasons for asking that question could have been. That was until a few days later when the case was finally closed and he collapsed back into the chair at his desk. Apollo and Trucy were out investigating a case of their own and Maya had said that she and Athena were going out together, leaving Phoenix in the office alone. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair but then stopped suddenly when his eyes caught sight of a note on the edge of his desk. Cautiously he picked it up and saw that his name was written on the outside, so he opened it up and read the simple message.
Care to meet me at the top of East Avenue this Friday at 12?
Phoenix smiled down at the note, assuming it was from Edgeworth. But just as he slipped the paper into his pocket, he realised that East Avenue was where a bowling alley was supposed to be and he briefly remembered Maya asking him something about bowling. He grew suspicious for a moment before shaking his head and brushing it off as a happy coincidence. As he left the office, Maya and Athena quietly giggled to each other and stepped out from where they had been hiding. One man down, three more to go.
Edgeworth had been difficult at first. There was no way for any of them to sneak into his office and none of them had any realistic excuse to visit him. But then by some stroke of luck, Edgeworth came to them. Or rather, to the office. He was dropping off some old evidence from a case that happened 5 years ago for Phoenix that he seemed to think related to their current case- though Edgeworth part jokingly warned them that Phoenix probably wouldn't touch them and would leave his other employees to the tedious task of trying to connect the crimes. Maya saw her chance and took it by forcefully pulling Edgeworth into a hug. He was stunned into becoming motionless and Maya quickly slipped the note into his pocket. Slowly, he loosely wrapped his arms around her small frame to return the embrace. She beamed at him as she pulled away and then heard the door open behind her.
"Nick, you're back!" she gave him a quick shoulder nudge before returning to her place on the couch. She watched Phoenix and Edgeworth talk together for a while out of the corner of her eye before Phoenix quickly kissed Edgeworth on the cheek and sent him on his way. About half way back to his office Edgeworth pushed his hands into his pockets and was surprised to find a note. He pulled it out and read the contents.
Meet me at the top of East Avenue on Friday at 12 o'clock x
Edgeworth rolled his eyes at what he presumed was Phoenix's message before folding it up and putting it back into his pocket, making a mental note to jot down the date when he got home.
Apollo had been so ridiculously easy that the three girls didn't have to be particularly secretive at all. Trucy bounced up to him, a letter in her hand while the other two girls were talking to Phoenix to keep him distracted and make sure he didn't see anything.
"This came for you this morning" she smiled up at him as he took the letter from her hands and playfully nudged himself against her. He flopped down onto the couch, turned the letter over a few times in his hands before opening it up.
You, me, top of East Avenue on Friday at 12? ;)
Apollo blushed slightly as he scanned the message that he guessed was from Klavier, despite the lack of signature. He quickly pulled out his phone, made sure he was free that day and then noted it down. He thought about sending a text to Klavier as a reply but then Trucy wandered back over to him and sat down so close to him that she was almost in his lap.
"What does it say?" Trucy peered over at the letter with faux curiosity.
"Oh, nothing" Apollo muttered as he stuffed the letter into his pocket, his blush darkening by the second. Trucy smiled and rolled her eyes; even if she didn't know exactly what the note said she still would have known Apollo thought it was from Klavier just from the look on his face. He was hardly the most subtle person in the world, after all.
Getting a letter to Klavier was also rather easy. All they had to do was send Trucy down to his office with the letter in hand, give it to him, and claim that Apollo had asked her to deliver it.
"And why couldn't he deliver it himself?" Klavier asked curiously as he stood and approached the girl.
"Daddy's got him running around in circles trying to help him with a case" Trucy answered with a small laugh. Klavier's lips split into a grin at the idea of Apollo running about after his boss and the 'stress relieving' activities he would want from Klavier later on. He took the letter from Trucy's hand and sent her off with a wave. He quickly opened it up and read the words on the page.
Want to meet me on Friday at the top of East Avenue at about 12? x
Klavier smiled softly to himself before pinning up the letter on his wall as a reminder of the day and time.
The day had finally arrived. Maya, Athena and Trucy giggled joyfully to each other as they sat in the diner attached to the bowling alley, awaiting the two couples arrival. They had positioned themselves so they could still see the lanes they had booked for the two couples, but anyone looking back from the lanes wouldn't be able to see them.
"Do you have your phone with you?" Athena asked, looking over at Maya.
"Of course!" Maya waved the phone in her hand. The three girls collapsed into giggles again at not only the idea of witnessing the double date, but taking pictures of it too (probably to be used as blackmail later on). Trucy was about to say something but was cut short as Phoenix burst through the doors with a huge grin on his face, dragging a startled looking Edgeworth behind him.
"Wow, I haven't been bowling in years" Phoenix looked around him in slight awe, still not letting go of Edgeworth's hand.
"Mr Wright and Mr Edgeworth?"
The two men turned around to see a woman standing behind them, a kind smile on her face.
"Yes?" Edgeworth answered carefully as he raised an eyebrow.
"Right this way, please" the woman began to walk over to the lanes. The two men paused for a moment before following her.
"This is your lane; I will bring your drinks over shortly. Please enjoy your time here" The woman smiled politely before taking her leave.
"Heads or Tails?" Phoenix asked, beaming as he pulled out a coin from his pocket.
"Heads" Edgeworth automatically said with his usual answer to that question and Phoenix flipped the coin.
"Ha! Tails, I go first"
"Be my guest" Edgeworth mumbled but even from where the three girls were sitting they couldn't miss the soft smile on his face when he looked over as Phoenix swiftly picked up a bowling ball and grinned like a child in a sweet shop. The two men began to play- Edgeworth somehow managing to keep his refined aura even when he hit a perfect strike and Phoenix started pouting like a child at him. After about 10 minutes, Athena kept restlessly checking her watch.
"They're late" she pointed out. But just as Maya turned to her, the doors burst open again and Apollo and Klavier walked inside as if on cue, hand in hand. Apollo was, as expected, blushing uncontrollably. But what surprised all three girls the most was the fact that Klavier's usual haughty persona was completely gone and had been replaced with the biggest smile on his face and a childish glint in his eye.
"I don't think I've ever actually been bowling before..." Klavier almost whispered and Apollo spun around to face him, completely shocked.
"Are you kidding me? You've never been bowling before in your life?"
Just before Klavier could reply, the same woman from before approached them and led them over to their lane, right next to Edgeworth and Phoenix. The three girls held their breath as they waited for someone to realise who was in the other lane. And they didn't have to wait for very long since just as Apollo picked up a bowling ball, Phoenix threw up his arms and let out a celebratory shout as he finally hit a strike, drawing everyone's eyes to him.
"M-Mr Wright?" Apollo would have dropped the bowling ball on his own foot if Klavier hadn't instinctively lunged forward and grabbed it before it fell.
"Apollo? Klavier? What are you two doing here?" Phoenix asked, his eyes wide in surprise. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks.
"We're, um..."
"We're on a date" Klavier quickly butted in when he noticed that words were not coming easily to Apollo in this situation.
"Bowling?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow sceptically.
"Phoenix, I'd like to remind you that we are also doing exactly the same thing" Edgeworth smirked as he watched the sarcastic look slip from the other man's face.
"Why did you invite me here at the same time my boss was going to be here?" Apollo turned to Klavier, his face now completely red but whether from embarrassment or anger Klavier couldn't tell.
"How was I supposed to know him and Herr Frilly were going to be here? Plus, you were the one who booked this place" Klavier rolled his eyes. Edgeworth spluttered something in the background but Phoenix pulled him back before he could say anything.
"Wait... no, I didn't. You invited me here" Apollo began to frown. Upon hearing the confusion in his voice, something began to click in Phoenix's mind.
"Miles, you remember that invitation for this date you put on my desk?" Phoenix asked Edgeworth cautiously, just as a way to test out his theory.
"Very funny Phoenix. As I recall it was you who slipped that invite in my pocket when I dropped off that evidence to your office a few days ago"
"I knew it! Hey, guys" Phoenix swung back around to face Apollo and Klavier who now seemed to be bickering over something, but his voice interrupted them.
"Hm?" the two of them turned around to him at exactly the same time and Phoenix had to suppress a smile at their synchronicity.
"I think we've been set up"
"What?" Apollo, Klavier, and Edgeworth all stared at him in shock.
"Well think about it. Apollo, you said Klavier invited you here but Klavier says you invited him. I know I received a note on my desk asking me out on a date here from who I assumed was Miles but he says I was the one who put a note in his pocket. None of us actually invited anyone here or did any kind of booking for this place"
"But if it wasn't us, then who was it?" Apollo muttered. But just as Edgeworth went to reply, the sound of the automatic doors opening caused them all to turn around. Their eyes widened as they saw Maya, Trucy, and Athena frozen by the doors with expressions that could only be likened to rabbits caught in headlights. The two groups stared at each other for a moment.
"Run!" Maya suddenly yelled and all three girls sprinted out the building, laughing to themselves.
"Well... I guess we know whose fault this is then" Phoenix tried (and failed) to stop the smile spreading across his face.
"So, they were the ones who set us up" Edgeworth chuckled, also unable to find the will to be angry with them.
"If they went to all this trouble to plan it out, I guess a little double date wouldn't hurt" Klavier suggested quietly.
"No!" Apollo and Phoenix almost simultaneously answered as they started to head towards the doors to try and find out where the girls had gone off to. Klavier and Edgeworth sighed, turned to each other and shrugged before following the other two out the door.
They ended up spending over 5 hours walking around town before they found their friends. Those 5 hours had consisted of talking, laughing, stopping at coffee shops for a rest, and a lot of bickering about directions.
"So, in a way, it sort of ended up like a double date anyway" Maya grinned to Trucy and Athena as they sat around their new cups of hot chocolate, ready to beginning planning their next scheme to embarrass their friends. That was their job now, right?